Pollo Campero

It was pretty good. We had the chicken nuggets and tried all of the sauces. The cilantro was the best. The guava juice is amazing! The trackers you get for your food. So futuristic lol

Really bad chicken and the service is unbelievably bad, too. One server got us the wrong order and got annoyed with us when we politely asked her to please get us what we had ordered to begin with. Do yourself a favor and give this place a miss.

Meh. Just… meh. I live close by and was too lazy to cook, so I thought I’d check it out. I wish I could give you a better description of this place, other than to say I wish I would have gone somewhere with more personality. And more flavor.
Pollo Campero was so nondescript that I don’t even remember exactly what I ate. If you’re in Columbia Heights, do yourself a favor and grab a bite at one of the more authentic and vibrant Peruvian places down the street, like Pollo Sabroso on Park. Or eat some Cuban or Dominican food that is also on Park. Or just go to Giant and make some dinner yourself.

Food, especially the ceviche appetizers, were fabulous. Décor and service were also outstanding. Great for a special occasion.

I’m very confused about this place. It’s located in a prime spot in ColHi, serves really mediocre food, the service is god awful, and the prices aren’t even that cheap. It’s a chain, not a local restaurant with character.
The service, especially, was just god awful. One, slow incompetent dude at the register. By the time I got my chicken and black beans, it was cold. I saw it on the counter ready for me 15 minutes before I actually received it, and I was about to cause a fit.
Otherwise, the chicken and black beans were bland. The spicy chicken empanadas were not spicy. Everything tasted like it was either defrosted or from a can.
Line out the door though… partly because the service was so slow. But, this place seems to have plenty of local fans.

We visited the place today as we were on vacation in DC. We read the previous reviews and decided to give it a try. It is not as good as we read on the comments. The chicken was dry, overlooked, the flan is not made from scratch, the sweet plantains tasted like frozen fried food. Service was pretty plain also. We will it go back. It is really a cheap fast food place

Their food was quite good, but their actual dessert? I ordered a tres leches cake, and the top layer was HARD SOLID caramel. Mind you, I LOVE ME SOME SUGAR, but this was too much. Even for me. Anyway, highly recommend trying them out, however, make sure you arrive well before they close (at 9P), as they tend to run out of food around 8P. Oh yes, that happened to me. Maybe they should actually try and stay open later? Seems stupid to close so early, especially when I can’t imagine they’d have trouble making business in this neighborhood…

Try as they might, this is nothing more that fast food with an ethnic twist. And I paid ten dollars for this? My three empanadas were pretty hot and spicy but not very filling. The black beans were boring and not very flavorful… just out of the Goya can? The Jamaica hibiscus drink was too diluted for me… I have had lots better.
The service was a bit slow, but the clerk was cheerful and knowledgable. And the manager was solicitous and cleaned my table. Even though the food was tasty and the service was good, it was a bit overpriced. I think I would have prefered Chipotle or a Peruvian chicken place.

Full disclosure: I ate here during the Unilocal Runs a Fowl event.
Anyway, my friend & I kinda shared the orders we had, so I had empanadas and the grilled and fried chicken. For sides we got the campero rice & beans and quinoa. The portions concerned me at first, but by the end of the meal I was pretty satisfied. The chicken was very flavorful and the empanadas were pretty good. Not my mom’s, but still good. Surprisingly my favorite thing that I got was the quinoa. Never been a big fan of it, but decided to try it for the sake of getting something other than french fries, and it definitely didn’t disappoint. I would go back there just for a bowl of that. Overall, it was a pretty good experience and I’d go back if I were in the area.

Disclaimer: I ate here during the Unilocal Runs a Fowl event. Still, I’m surprised at all of the negative reviews. I strongly doubt Pollo Campero flew in their executive chef to oversee the frying of the night’s chicken.
I decided to skip the fried chicken and ordered the chicken empanadas meal. So glad I did! I got 3 very filling spicy chicken empanadas that were actually spicy and stuffed full of juicy pulled chicken. The platanos (plantains) I got for my side were great and came with sour cream in true Latin fashion!
Because I’m fat, I ate my friend’s fried chicken leg when he got full. It was way better than any other fast food fried chicken I’ve recently tasted. The skin was golden brown and very crispy but with surprisingly little grease. I don’t really eat a lot of fried chicken but next time I’m in the mood for some, I’d def go out of my way for some Pollo Campero.
The kicker was the horchata. Y’all know I love horchata! I prefer it a little thicker but thank goodness it was cinnamon-​y and not too sweet. Great balance to the spicy empanadas.
Avoid the quatro leches cake unless you have a sweet tooth for the ridiculously sweet. The layer of dulce de leche on top was way too much. I scraped almost all of it off and it was okay but the cake wasn’t worth the calories. Stick to the chicken!

Less than desirable food, stale and dry, granted it is a fast food restaurant but they could use some improvement in the way they deliver the quality of their product. Definitely not a fan of this place.

Was anticipating a hearty plate of food. :-(I was unhappy. Little piece of chicken and a very small amount of rice. I’ve paid 7 bucks for the meal, but it could of been better. The place had trash still on their tables from previous customers & they took forever to take my order. Other than that, the location is good. I will never go again.

I walked in and was waiting in line. I was very excited to try the food, the chicken looked good, but I saw a roach so I left.

Disgusting! I wanted to puke after I ate here!
I decided to try something different, but this was a fail. I did not enjoy this food at all. The service wasn’t too great either. The lady got my order wrong and shrugged it off.

Staff were rude and treated me like dirt. The chicken is a greasy mess as well. Save your money, don’t bother.

Like other reviewers, I’ve been to quite a few Pollo Camperos in Guatemala. I thought this one was pretty good — the server was unfailingly polite, food was served on a plate with metal silverware when dining in, the salsa bar was kept clean. As fast food restaurants in the US go, Pollo Campero is a cut above the rest, this location included.

Yes, as others have said it is a Latin version of KFC/Popeye’s. But where else can you find horchata and a delicious fried chicken bowl with beans, rice, cilantro/​onions, pico de gallo and plenty of other sauces to choose from for cheap? I’m sold on this place, definitely will be back!

I write this to warn all of you about a couple of things you should not waste your money on at Campero. I’ve only tried the sides so I admit I have limited knowledge but read on.
I’m from Nicaragua and nothing reminds me of home like tres leches and flan. I passed by Pollo Campero in Columbia Heights recently and decided to go ahead and order a tres leches. I kid you not, that thing is pretty awful. The cake is maybe an inch tall so it is small and it manages to taste like absolutely nothing. The frosting is terrible and not the authentic stuff. If you want a tres leches, go to Whole Foods. I know you’re probably like, «LOL Whole Foods makes an authentic tres leches!!!» and my answer to you is oh yes, they do!
Do not waste your time or money on the flan. The flan is pretty close to inedible. They managed to make something that is very clearly not flan. It doesn’t even taste like supermarket flan, the storebought variety you can get in a tiny box in Latin America. The texture is just closer to pudding than flan and it doesn’t taste good. If you’re going to eat all that sugar and fat, it’s got to be worth it. This clearly isn’t.
What you should get are the yuca fries and the horchata. The yuca fries are not the best in the city but they are quite tasty and crispy on the outside and soft on the inside. They serve them with this «salsa rosada» which is spanish for pink sauce aka mayo and ketchup sauce. The horchata is also very tasty — it’s a rice-​based milk that looks kind of like chocolate milk. Beware of how sweet it is, though! If all you want is horchata, ask that they go heavy on the ice. You’ll need it to dilute the sugar.

I’m not 100% sure if it was the $ 3.99 two-​piece and side meal or it mixing with the Red Bull I had beforehand, but my stomach was angry for nearly 24 hours after a late dinner. I didn’t detect anything odd about the savory chicken when I was eating, so beware.
I heart the yucca fries, though.

Take the deliciousness of KFC, minus the heart-​stopping feeling, add a little side of Pollo Rico, and some fried yucca and you’ve got Pollo Campero. Sure, its fast food, but someone served me this at a party or on my dining room table, I’d still gobble it up.
Go with the black beans and rice side, thefried yucca, and a couple pieces of chicken and a ice cold soda and a nice sunny day and I’m feelin groovy. The chicken isn’t too greasy, is spiced with latin flair, and meaty. The beans and rice don’t feel like taco bell refried, and the fried yucca is just delicious. Oh yeah, don’t forget there’s a TON of sauces at the sauce buffet for you to drench all your foods in.
Gotta love Pollo Campero.